CAPE MAN TRANSFORMS STUMPS INTO ART

For most folks, a dead tree is a hassle -- something to be chopped up and hauled off.

To August W. Birk, it's a work of art waiting to happen.

The Cape Girardeau plumber-turned-sculptor has been turning stumps into statues since 1984, honing his skills with each one. His latest effort is a Swiss man blowing a Alpine horn, which will be moved to the Dr. John Holcomb home north of Cape Girardeau.

Birk, 72, also has carved golfers, St. Francis of Assisi, angels, a football player, squirrels, a newspaper boy and a variety of other figures.

The hobby began when he visited a town in northern Michigan and saw a man carving sculptures with chain saws. Birk decided to turn his attention from merely chopping firewood to creating art.

He begins each statue by picking out an appropriate tree in someone's yard; the type of wood doesn't really matter, Birk said. Well placed dead trees are best, because the sculptures can remain standing right where they are.

Other sculptures come from free-standing pieces of wood.

Birk draws a life-size sketch of the proposed sculpture on a piece of cardboard. He builds scaffolding around the trunk, then starts working from the top.

Big cuts are made with a chain saw and the detail work done with a power sander and small power tools with various attachments. By the end, the wood is smooth and free of splinters. Birk covers it with sealant or perhaps some stain and encourages his customers to put on two coats of weatherproofer a year.

Chain saw carving is a tricky job -- one false move and a statue may lose an appendage. Nothing so dramatic has happened so far, but Birk said he makes the occasional mistake.

"Nine out of 10 times I don't leave enough wood for the nose," he said. "Many of my statues end up with short noses, but they aren't too noticeable."

Some problems with statues have to do with the wood, because Birk doesn't know what's inside until he starts in with a chain saw. There may be knots on his statue's face or rotted portions in its middle. The artist had to fill one statue with insulation and block holes with wood carvings.

Despite the inherent problems in chain saw sculpting, people like the results. Birk gave away his work for years. Customers didn't lose interest when he started charging, and Birk keeps a constant waiting list.

Being paid for his artwork is the fulfillment of a dream for the one-time plumber. It began when Birk was a young man in high school. He took all the art classes he could, then graduated and became a pilot in the Air Force.

When his tour of duty ended, Birk's father expected him to join the family plumbing and heating business. The young veteran convinced his father to let him take advantage of the G.I. Bill and attend school at the University of Missouri-Columbia.

He took art classes there for years, then transferred for one semester to the Fort Wayne Art School in Indiana to be closer to his fiancee, Patricia. After graduation, Birk married her and moved back to Missouri to join the plumbing business.

"Art was thrown to the side," Birk said. "I had three young daughters to feed."

His years away from art didn't hurt his talent. Today, he does wood relief carvings and small pieces in addition to his large sculptures.

Stories about Birk's life will be published in the book "All That I Am And More." His children encouraged him to write it and include information about the Birk family genealogy.

"As I saw my seven grandchildren coming along and was able to talk to them, I find life is so much different now than when I was their age," Birk said. "I want them to know about life then."

Don't look for the book in stores. Copies will be given away as Christmas presents for family and friends.